Analyzing the Utility of Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System (DPICS) Warm-Up Segments

Analogue behavioral observations are an important component of multi-modal, multi-informant assessments. The Dyadic Parent-Child
Interaction Coding System (DPICS) is a structured behavior observation system developed to assess the frequency and quality
of parent and child behaviors during a structured dyadic interaction. The DPICS includes two, five-minute warm-up (WU) segments
before coded segments; these WU segments are thought to allow dyads time to acclimate to observation instructions and improve
the representativeness of sampled behavior. To date, there are no published studies addressing the usefulness of warm-up (WU)
segments in a community-based treatment setting. This study analyzed the contribution of including WU segments in DPICS observations
by comparing mean parent and child behavior composite frequency counts obtained from a community sample of 13 mother-child
dyads. Comparisons were made between pre- and post-treatment DPICS WU and typically-coded (TC) segments. No significant differences
were found between WU and TC segments at pre- or post-treatment DPICS observations. The implications of our findings for the
utility of WU segments are discussed, along with suggestions for future directions in research.